Shadow Watch
by The Real Nowhere-Man
Summary: On his way back from Inaba, Souji gets pulled into a whole other fiasco and become acquainted with the Shadow Watch, a group of Persona users who manipulate human affairs behind the scenes to insure the safety of mankind. Minato appears later.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Persona 4, the concept persona, shadows, etc.

This is an idea that came to me when most of my other good ideas do, between 9:30 and 10:00 when I'm sitting down enjoying a pre-bedtime bowl of cereal and my mind wanders and seeks various secrets of the universe, god, and human nature. But occasionally I will have some creative venture during this period and that is why I have written this. My other 2 fics (All My Friends, and Why Did You Do It?) were also conceived in this time.

I take a couple of liberties in my stories, especially in the nature of Persona, so don't be surprised if go out of the box of simple, Zio= hit-you-with-lightning attack type action and go more into Loki can shape shift into a lion and bite your head off type thing. Also all the persona have traits associated with there mythologies i.e. **IFTHE CORRESPONDING MYTHICAL FIGURE CAN TALK, SO CAN THE PERSONA!**

That is all you need to know now (that I can think of), if I need to say more I'll put it in another chapter.

Let it Begin:

Souji Seta watched the countryside as it flew by the train's window. He had been here a dozen times. Every time it was the same, his parents work forced him to move somewhere, he'd make friends, and then he'd move somewhere else. It was pretty cut and dry, open the door, walk in and be sure to close it on the way out. But it was different this time. This time, his circumstance had forced him to have an intimacy with his new friends that he had never had before. As they say, there is no bond like that forged in the face of death. He no longer had scissors strong enough to cut the bonds he'd formed in that tiny, backwater town, and he found that he didn't want to. His departure from Inaba had left him down, and this rain wasn't helping. He could do nothing but sigh in resignation because the circumstances that had led him to that place, that dull little town where so much had happened, were leading him away. There was still hope, he was 17 and soon he'd be able to convince his parents to allow him autonomy of living. He could move back there and stay as long as he wanted. This thought cheered him up significantly and he couldn't help but smile, ignoring the odd look he was receiving from the old fur covered lady across from him. Seriously, this lady had so many furs it was a wonder no one thought they were part of her and confused her with a missing link. It took all of Souji's highly refined composure to not laugh out loud. Feeling considerably better, Souji let the pat-pat of the raindrops lull him to sleep, still smiling.

Souji awoke wondering why he felt so odd. Something was definitely wrong, but what was it. The fur-lady in front of him was sleeping, the light from the moon falling on her coats which, it would seem, were also covered in glitter. Souji turned his head to the window trying to find out what was bothering him, what he had a definitive feeling was missing. It came all at once, the sound of the wheels on the railroad, the vibration of the train shooting across the country, and the image of the passing landscape, were gone…the train had stopped.

Now Souji's first impulse was to sit here and wait for the train's staff to fix whatever had gone wrong with the train. But as the minutes passed the absolute lack of any activity began to worry him. Had the train's staff already come through to assuage the passenger's worries while he was asleep? It was something they were sure to do, after all this is a situation no one wants to be in so there would always be one impatient prick who believed that he could somehow get the repairs done faster by hassling the people who were trying to fix it. But there was no sighing, no complaining, no activity at all.

Souji got out of his seat and looked at all the other ones in the compartment, all asleep. Perhaps the stewardesses had hoped to resolve the situation before anyone woke up, without anyone knowing. Still, no matter how late a train was running, there was always _someone_ awake. Souji removed his cell phone to see the time…9:17p.m. It was hardly late at all.

Now that persistent tightness in his stomach that seemed to be trying to tell him something was wrong went into overdrive. Souji walked to the end of the compartment and opened the door into the next. All the passengers were asleep in here too. It was the same in all the compartments, everyone on the treason was asleep including the stewards _and_ the conductors. So there he stood now, in front of the control panel, with two conductors in uniform curled in fetal positions on the floor, in the middle of the county side.

A sharp bang sounded from somewhere far away, startling Souji. Not sure of the reason for his own haste, Souji strode to the back of the train, knowing that the cause of his anxiety lay somewhere back there. When he finally reached the last compartment, the door was wide open. Souji slowed considerably, his times in the TV world making him very cautious. HE stepped through the door and leapt over the railing onto the train tracks and looked around. There didn't seem to be anybody around, so why were the hairs on the back of his neck on end. The whole back of his head felt static, like some kind of pressure was on it, the pressure of a gaze. Souji whipped his head around and finally saw something. Sitting cross-legged atop the train was a teenager, probably the same age as Souji. His hair was a grey shade that one usually only sees in the elderly. His skin was pail and his body was slim. There wasn't a lot of bulging muscle; it was all very streamlined like a runner. His unusually prominent canines and the wide stretch of his mouth gave him a grin that could only be described as feral. His eyes, his eyes were a gleaming yellow, reminding Souji of the shadow selves he had fought last year.

This realization made Souji immediately fall into combat stance, legs apart, knees bent in a firm stance, hands tightened around…air. He didn't have a weapon.

"Damn it" Souji cursed under his breath. He knew that there was no way he could've prepared for this; after all he would surely get in trouble if he brought a sword onto the train with him. Still, he felt really irritated at himself as he settled for glaring at the potential aggressor, who had finally decided to speak.

"Well, took him long enough to notice us, slug. Well, I know we were told he's a big shot, but he hasn't impressed much yet, doesn't even have a weapon, right Anghel?"

Now a second boy emerged from the door that Souji had come from, probably having feigned sleep to escape Souji's notice. This one was considerably darker than the first, not in skin tone, but he radiated solemnness that one would immediately loose any sense o humor simply by being in the kid's presence. His hair was black and fell over one eye like a curtain. His eyes were so dark you'd need to get centimeters away from his face to distinguish the iris from the pupil, and he wore black gloves that went with the rest of his black attire. He, unlike his counter part, was not smiling; he simply glared at Souji analytically, like he was assessing him.

"There is little point in complaining Hound. We have orders, they must be carried out." That was the dark one this time, Anghel, a Romanian name by the sound of it. His comrade's response was nothing short of a cackle.

"Yeah I know that, still…why did we have to come all the way out here to pull this stunt. I mean, I know it was no trouble for you to put all the other people in the train to sleep and then stopping it. I just don't see why we couldn't have a waited in the city where he was supposed to go. A whole lot less effort on my part."

"Why do you insist on asking questions to which you already know the answer? We are here because we were told to be here! Your habit for disobedience will get you thrown back into the doghouse again if you aren't careful."

The one called Hound suddenly shivered violently before leaping off the top of the train and landing _on all fours_ on the tracks. A fall which would've caused any normal human to stagger and collapse, but these two were obviously not normal.

Well, might as well get this party started!" Hound's feral grin had returned with a vengeance and Souji could've sworn that there was fire flickering in his eyes. He tilted his head back and did something that Souji had almost come to expect from the odd individual: he _howled_…perfectly. The sound was so authentically lupine that had Souji not been staring directly at the source, he would've been certain it was a wolf. When Hound howled however, something unprecedented happened when Hound howled; a countless shards of blue light, like shattered glass, flew out of him and began to coagulate above him. They joined together and took the shape of an actual wolf that now stood as high as the train behind it. Its jaws were open and slobber ran from its sinister teeth. Its silvery fur bristled and its ears twitched. A low guttural growl came from deep in the beast's throat and its yellow eyes gleamed the same way its summoner's did. Souji jumped back at the sight of the creature…A Persona.

"Mr. Souji Seta, may I please have the pleasure of introducing you to the great, great, great, granddaddy of all feral beasts! Let's give it up for Fenrir!"

"Shit!" Was the best Souji could manage before the great beast pounced.


	2. Chapter 2

Souji was quick to toss the silver-gray coat from him, revealing his white undershirt drenched in sweat. Sweat was dripping into his eye and when he wiped it off the sight that greeted his restored vision was a paw as large as his torso coming at his left. A quick series of jumps backwards barely saved Souji from being impaled on the beast's massive claws. He and this Fenrir creature had been going at it for a while now, and Souji was starting to feel it. Each time Souji weaved around the giant wolf and tried to get close to the summoner, Fenrir would just jump in his way again. Frankly Souji was starting to get tired of this dodge, weave, and bob routine. Fenrir was still now, pacing back and forth like it was waiting for him to make the next move. Hound just sat there, ginning like a devil. It was clear they didn't take him seriously.

Taking advantage of the momentary lull in combat, Souji closed his eyes and tried once again to reach into himself, to find the door in his mind that his power lay behind. He stilled his breath and reached inward as far as he could, and a blue card began to form in his hand. However, it flickered and vanished again, just like the other times before.

"Looks like he isn't used to summoning his persona in the physical realm…told you this was a waste of time." It was Hound; the self-righteous mockery in his voice was unmistakable.

"I never thought I'd say this Hound, but you might be right. His stamina is good, but there seems to be no significant improvement." That one was Anghel, Hound's analytical comrade.

"Yo Freud, can finish this? I'm hungry!"

"Well, the higher-ups did grant me jurisdiction to pass judgment."

"…so, yay or nay?"

"Very well Hound, do as you like."

Souji had found Hound's smile maniacal before, but now, as he turned his head back around to face Souji, it was positively psychotic.

"Playtime is over, sorry Mr. Seta; nothing personal it's just Darwin's law."

Fenrir advanced again, but this time the beast charged with a speed that made it clear just how much it had been holding back before. Souji had had suspicions that it wasn't going 100%, but he was now proved painfully correct as one of the monsters claws, easily 3ft long, punctured his abdomen and pinned him to the ground. The body prioritizes pain signals, so in that moment, every other wound he suffered was lost to him as only the wave of agony that emanated from more or less where his stomach should be could be felt. He didn't have the power to move anymore, even if he could, he didn't know what he was going to do. There was no way something that big could pierce him and not strike at least one vital thing. In reality, it had probably struck several vital things.

So Souji lay there, not being able to do anything but complain about the total unfairness of it all. He had survived a whole year running around in a parallel world, fighting the manifestations of people's dark thoughts, murderers and even goddesses. Now, here he was, about to become high protein Purina Pet Chow. He would never see his friends again; he would never follow through on his plans to go back to Inaba. No, he wouldn't except that, if he died and went to heaven, he'd bust his way out of the Pearly gates and come right back down. He wasn't going to rollover for a dog!

It was here now, the flood of power came uninterrupted, spreading through his body and into his hand, and the card formed fully this time. Souji didn't even bother looking at the image. _Someone, anyone_, was all Souji thought as he crushed his final hope in his hand.

Hound had turned away from the sight; too certain of the outcome to even bother. Then the sudden swell of energy caused all of his hairs to stand on end at once. He turned back to se Souji Seta lying on the ground with Fenrir's paw on top of him, aflame. The energy came spilling out of him in a blue fire that engulfed him completely. A shining card had formed in his had, which he crushed to bits. The pieces of the card flew above him and began to swirl together, taking a new shape…a Persona.

The creature that appeared looked like the devil of Paper Mache. It was as large as Fenrir but vaguely human shaped, totally white and made of countless folded angels. It had horns and its fingers were sharp lake paper blades. At first, it just stood there, but at its master's cry of "Shiki-Ouji!" it sprang into action. With one arm it grasped Fenrir by the throat and lifted him into the air. Hound felt a corresponding constriction around his own throat that brought him back into reality. He tried to have Fenrir claw at the creature, but Fenrir's paw was intercepted by the paper giant who promptly twisted his paw out of formation. Hound grasped his own left wrist and cried out, all the while trying to remind himself that it wasn't really _his_ hand. His calm returned too late, Shiki-Ouji had hurled Fenrir onto the grass plain…but before Fenrir could recover, the thing's hand _stretched_ over to him and lifted him once again.

It was no longer a fight, it was now a massacre. Shiki-Ouji's extended arms would lift Fenrir into the air and bring it slamming back down into the ground over and over. Each impact felt by Fenrir was shared by its master, who was now close to loosing consciousness. Souji cringed at the sight. Shiki-Ouji was a naturally vicious creature, but Souji usually had more control over it. Now however, Souji's own consciousness was fading from blood loss, only his shear desperation had granted him Shiki-Ouji, who had now ceased repeatedly slamming Fenrir on the ground. Shiki-Ouji's hands enlarged, much like paper being unfolded, until they wrapped completely around the huge wolf. Then, the ferocious Shikigami proceeded to crush the wolf, resulting in anguished cries from Hound. Souji tried to stand, to tell it to stop, but he didn't have the energy. He could only turn his head and watch Hound, once so cocky, writhe in agony. Then, quite suddenly, Hounds companion struck Hound forcefully on the head causing the feral boy to loose consciousness. A sudden gap was left in Shiki-Ouji's grip as Fenrir vanished from the physical realm, its master no longer being conscious to sustain it. Shiki-Ouji too disappeared.

As his own consciousness started to fade, Souji could barley make out Anghel's voice.

"You really deserve no less… tiger's are at their fiercest when backed into a corner." Anghel sighed and dialed a cell phone.

"It's me; we need the Doc out here now. We have two seriously injured."

Whatever else may have taken place slipped away as Souji lost his struggle for consciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:** Okay, looks like I need to clear up something for those who got confused why I chose to use Shiki-Ouji in the last chapter. Well, in this story, it is harder to summon persona in the "Real world", and Souji isn't used to doing this. As you saw before, he was having trouble summoning a persona at all. It was only by the sheer desperation of his situation that he got the power to summon Shiki-Ouji at all. It would not have been possible for him to summon a more powerful persona, even though he has many. He just didn't have enough power. Now, as to why I chose Shiki-Ouji specifically… I put Persona names on pieces of paper, threw them in a bucket, and pulled one out with my eyes closed.

Moving on:

At this point, if you take into account t the trips to the velvet room, Izanami's realm (both of which he visited for the first time in a dream), and his odd dreams about his friends, Acid dreams should feel pretty common for Souji. But this place was… something else. It was permeated by a sense of melancholy and mysticism. Souji couldn't help but feel like someone had just died someone close to him. HE couldn't explain it because he knew that none of his friends had died…but he felt like someone close to him was gone. However, the feeling wasn't overwhelming, a depressing weight that crushed down on people and impaired their every action (which is how the feeling of loosing someone close was often described). It was something softer, mixed with a sense of serenity, like someone had died, but what ever needed to be done was done. It was a feeling he would imagine comes to people looking out their window on a rainy day when all the lights are off, just thinking about their old friends.

Its makeup was more fantastic than the Velvet Room as well. It was like he was in outer space, yet he was standing on something… he was sure of that much. All around him he could see the lights of stars and other celestial phenomena. This place felt absolutely still, detached, like he could just stay here and nothing would ever change; it would always be this beautiful. But one thing was out of place in this serene landscape. A massive double door stood not to far away from Souji. That was it, just a door; the door wasn't even connected to anything. It just stood there by itself. The most disturbing thing about the door was what hung on it. A boy, about the same age as Souji, was crucified to the double doors right about where they should open, sealing them shut. Another odd thing about the boy, He was apparently made of stone.

Before Souji could consider this oddity, the serenity of the space was shattered by an invasive depression. It came out of nowhere and caused Souji's legs to buckle from the sheer weight of the emotion. HE didn't know why, but quite suddenly Souji just didn't find the point in…anything. He felt, more strongly than he had ever felt before, that his existence was meaningless, he'd be so much better off without it. His life was so full of pain; it would be easier to not exist. _That's not true_ Souji tried to force himself to think positive thoughts. He remembered all his friends back at Inaba who were still waiting on him. Youske, always a joker, but serious when it mattered. Kanji, acts tough, but really just wanted people to accept him. Yukiko, heir to generations of responsibility, but really just a little kid on the inside. Rise, always torn between her own desires and the wishes of others. Everyone else as well.

His thoughts of them gave him strength to rise, but didn't prepare him for what came next. A massive, shadowy, 2 headed monster came rising out of the ground. It was apparently made of smoke and when it opened its mouth; its voice was the scream of countless souls, begging for salvation. It extended one billowing hand and grasped at the stone boy, trying to pry him from the door. It pulled and pulled to no avail when suddenly, several rays of blue light shot from the stone boy, slicing the monster's foggy body where ever the beams toughed. The beast wailed and recoiled, its wounds recovering. Then it turned to Souji, as if it had just noticed his presence. It extended an arm and Souji quickly took a defensive stance, not entirely sure what he would do. However, action on his part was unnecessary for, just as the beast tried to grab him, another bolt of blue light flashed from the statue-boy, stronger than the others. The light caused the creature entire arm to dissolve, resulting in another wail of pain from the smoking shadow. It turned toward the statue again and held the gaze for several moments before it sank back into the ground.

Souji had not, until that moment, realized what a tremendously oppressive presence that creature had. Now that it was gone, it felt like someone who had been sitting onto of Souji for quite a while, had suddenly gotten off. The overwhelming despair that he had barley fought off a while ago was now gone, and the bittersweet calm once again descended into the place. However, it was not like before. Souji was sure that something else was here, something that hadn't been here before the arrival of that creature. He heard footsteps behind him, but when he turned to identify them, all he could see was a silhouette. It was difficult to make out gender or age, but the form was tall and definitively human. He didn't know why, but Souji felt suddenly vary apprehensive. Something about this silhouette threatened him. Souji unconsciously took a step back, and as the featureless shadow advanced, Souji found that he continued to back away. He couldn't understand his fear, but it was pervasive enough to quell any of his curiosity and compel complete obedience. Souji had backed up without looking backwards so, needless to say, he was quite startled when he backed up into the door. HE had completely forgotten it was there, but now it was cutting him off.

He was considering the possibility of going around it to escape the encroaching menace when a voice right next to him caused him to jump.

"What are you doing here?" It was a boy, a bit shorter than Souji and of a leaner build. His hair was dark blue, almost black but not quite. His eyes were grey as storm clouds. He wore a black jacket with a white undershirt and black jeans. There was a red armband around his right arm that read S.E.E.S. The boy was looking from him to the silhouette and back very anxiously.

"You need to leave, now!"

Souji was about to comment that he didn't know how to leave, or even where he was, when the boy grabbed him by the shoulders and _pushed him down through the floor._ Everything began to fade out of focus, and after a while, Souji could here voices from somewhere nearby.

There was a dull throb in Souji's head, and the voices were not helping. The words were muted, and he could just barely make out snippets of the conversation. They were speaking in English, and his condition made him have a harder time than usual deciphering their words.

"…massive, white… slam… didn't stand…" the voice was definitely masculine, sounded familiar too…but from where?

"…No physical da-… all in his… other one… major blood loss… be okay…" this one was different. It was female and bubbly, despite the solemn tone of the conversation that was indicated by the term "major blood loss"… then again, it could be the name of one of those American metal bands, but probably not.

He recalled then, all at once, the battle with the strange Persona user Hound and his comrade Anghel who had both assaulted him on the train. He remembered having run from the wolf Persona, Fenrir, for a while before the duo decided he wasn't worth the time and the wolf's giant claw had skewered him through the stomach. That he didn't die instantly is, he now realized, nothing short of a miracle. His fear of dying like that had given him enough power to summon Shiki-Ouji to defend him. He remembered the Shikigami Persona had gone berserk and made quick work of Fenrir, but after that… nothing would come. He didn't feel any pain in his stomach, and his thoughts were clear so he wasn't on drugs. He remembered Anghel had called for someone called Doc. Had they given him medical treatment? There were still far too many variables for him to make any judgments yet.

He quite suddenly felt someone's breath quite close to his face. It smelled like spearmint, and he could tell that the person was hovering right above him. HE tried his hardest to remain completely still, if they thought he was still asleep, it might be his only advantage in his situation since it was now obvious he had been kidnapped. However, his efforts didn't do much because the female voice sounded right next to him:

"His eyes are moving under his eyelids and his muscles tensed when I got close to him…he's awake."

Busted, Souji thought. He let his eyes open, which was a bad idea. The sun was directly above him and glared right into his eye. Souji reflexively shut his eyes again and turned his head. HE sat up and opened his eyes again. It was the same grassy plane where he had fought against Hound, he could tell from the pulverized earth no to par away from him where Shiki-Ouji had hammered Fenrir in repeatedly, and blood stains from where he had lain dying. Remembering his wound, Souji grabbed at his stomach and found…nothing. The wound had almost totally closed up, save for a thin scar that traveled up from his bellybutton a couple centimeters. Souji turned and found Anghel stretched out on a blanket of some sort, staring at him. Next to Souji was the owner of the female voice. She too, was a teenager, probably not much older than Souji was, a theme he was beginning to find common among these people. Her hair was black and lustrous, flowing down to about her waist. She was tanned the color of kiwi skin, without the hair. She wore a long white skirt that fell around her ankles and a white V-neck blouse. Her eyes were green on the outside, but flecks of gold colored them as you got closer to the pupil. She was very exotic, very beautiful, and clearly not Japanese.

She turned to look at Souji, then to Anghel, then back to Souji again, as if she was waiting for someone to speak up. NO one broke the silence, so she turned to Souji bowed and said:

"Sayonara."

Souji blinked once, he blinked twice, his brain trying to figure out what the girl meant. Surely they didn't intend to kill him after they went through the trouble of healing him. SO why was she saying goodbye? She quite suddenly widened her eyes and said in English

"Oh, no that isn't right. Um…Domo arigato…no that's not it. Abunai…no, that means something else…Toire wa doko desu ka!"

Souji tried his hardest to snicker. The poor girl obviously didn't know that she had just said thank you, look out, and where is the toilet, respectively. The girl now stared at Anghel nervously, waiting for him to say something. The dark haired boy did nothing but look at the ground and play with his hair. This caused the girl to growl in frustration, she was clearly being teased. She opened her mouth, possibly to make a hot retort, when Souji decided to stop his enjoyment at the girl's expense.

"I speak English." He told her, well, in English of course. She turned to him and her mouth formed a small O. he continued, his mirth disappearing as he remembered the seriousness of his situation.

"I assume you're Doc."

"Wow, you're right…how did you know. Wait, I know, you can read minds can't you?"

"… No I can't read minds. I overheard your friend over there, Anghel I believe, calling for you on a cell phone."

"Oh, well yes. I am Doc, and since you seem to be pretty bright, I guess you already figured out that I healed you."

"I had my suspicions. But how did you do it. Are you also, a Persona user?"

Before she could speak, Anghel interrupted.

"You are in no position to be conducting an interrogation. Need I remind you that _you_ are the prisoner? It is only thanks to this humanitarian over here, that you haven't been bound or gagged."

"Anghel, you really have no diplomatic skills at all do you. The guy almost died, I wouldn't go around threatening him first thing in the morning. If he does you the same way he did Hound it'll only serve you right."

Anghel simply glared at her.

"I retract my statement, she isn't a humanitarian…she is a sadist masquerading as a medic."

"What! You take that back before I-"

"Hey!"

Souji's shout called their attention back at him.

"I don't care whether or not I'm a prisoner. You people attack a train full of innocent people, drag me out, and then try to kill me but don't. You kept me alive for a reason. During my fight with that Hound persona, several allusions were made that you were 'testing' me and that I was 'wanted'. I demand to know who you are and what you want from me!"

Anghel glared at Souji, but Doc responded softly:

"Yeah, I know you do. I promise that if you just hold off a little longer, we will be able to answer you're questions.'

"And what makes you think I'd be willing to trust you people?"

It was Anghel who responded this time:

"Simple, you're curious."

Souji wouldn't admit to it, so he settled for remaining silent and gazing about him. HE noticed that one person was missing, and guilt began to inch into him. Sure he'd been attacked first but, it had looked like that boy had been seriously hurt. He turned to Doc:

"Where is that other one…Hound, is he alright?"

"Tch. That guy, he's fine. He didn't receive any real injuries… it was a result of his link to his persona. The only lasting wound was to his pride. He was so embarrassed at the way you thoroughly trounced him that he went off sulking somewhere, using the excuse that he was going to wait for the Doorman."

"Who is the Doorman?"

She smiled at him. Her teeth were perfectly aligned and stunningly white. Souji got a nagging suspicion of cosmetic surgery, but berated himself for judging so quickly.

"The Doorman will answer all your questions."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note**: OKAY, HERE IS MY PROBLEM! I LIKE WRITING, RERALLY, BUT I CAN'T GET VERY MOTIVATED WHEN I HAVE SO FEW REVIEWS! I DON'T WANT TO SOUND WHINY, BUT SINCE THIS IS A NONE PROFIT WEBSITE, REVIEWS ARE REALLY WHAT I LIVE FOR. WITH ONLY THE FEW THAT I GOT, I JUST COULDN'T REALLY GET MOTIVATED. I'D CHECK MY E-MAIL AT LEAST 3 TIMES TO SEE IF I HAD GOTTEN ANY MORE REVIEWS, AND USUALY I DIDN'T. NOW I KNOW WHA YOU'RE THINKING "IS THIS GUY TRYING TO GET ME TO PITTY HIM?" IF IT WILL MAKE PEOPLE REVIEW MORE…THEN YES, IF NOT…WELL WHATEVER.

A SHOUIT OUT TO THE PEOPLE WHO **DID** TAKE THE TIME TO HELP ME OUT:

(Persona series section)Final-Freedom, M14mouse

(Megami tensei section) Orion, and Hidro-sama

ALSO, THANKS TO PEOPLE WHO PUT MY STORY ON ALERT…BUT PLEASE DO REVIEW LAST TIME, IT'LL BARELY TAKE A MINUTE.

Anyway:

"The Doorman will answer all my questions…really?" The sarcasm in Souji's voice was too strong to be misconstrued as anything else. The dark skinned girl simply grinned wider.

"Sorry, but I love saying really dramatic things like that. The Doorman is going to get you your answers, but indirectly. See, he is going to take you to where you can get the answers."

Souji looked at the enthusiastic girl for a good while before deciding that he really wasn't gong to get any information out of her. Well, not with strait forward questions anyway.

"Doc, Hound, Doorman, Anghel. I must say those don't sound like actual names, more like titles."

The girl giggled in a way that reminded Souji of a seven-year old.

"Well, they aren't our actual names…except Anghel. All the Persona users of the Shadow Watch have their own codenames based on certain traits."

_Gotcha _Souji thought, when the usually stoic Anghel displayed that his lungs did have some strength.

"DOC! Shut up!"

"Whoops! I wasn't supposed to say anything about that was I? Me and my big mouth."

She grimaced slightly and bobbed herself on the head twice. However, Souji was not about to let it go.

"What is 'Shadow Watch'? And why does only Anghel use his actual name?"

The other two were silent now, Doc looking at the ground and Anghel glaring strait at Souji. Souji glared right back, not willing to give an inch, even though he wasn't in the best of situations.

Anghel sighed and averted his gaze to Doc.

"Well Doc, seeing as how you, due to your boisterous personality, have divulged information to our captive, I supposed there's no harm in telling him a little, so long as it shuts him up."

Souji became serious once again. It was time he unraveled the mystery of these people who wielded persona, even in the physical world. He could make a guess about there intentions. That girl had already confirmed his suspicion that they were in a group, a group that seemed to consist of persona users. Hound had said that he was testing him, and even when they had a chance to kill him, they healed him instead; He could venture a guess that they wanted him to join whatever group they were. Well if it turned out they were a band of persona uses that used their power to harm others, they'd be in for a surprise. Still, these assumptions were all based on things he already knew, and if he had learned one thing in last year's investigations, it was that, just one piece of missing information could completely change the nature of something. He figured, as long as he could ask some questions, maybe he could get them to reveal more than they themselves were aware. After all, Souji had a skill in reading people that had once made his Uncle comment that he could be a detective. Besides, that dark girl seemed rather loose lipped.

"So" Souji began "what were you saying about codenames?"

Doc looked tentatively at Anghel, who nodded in ascent. Then she began to speak:

"Like I was saying before, persona users of the Shadow Watch have code names based on what we can do. I'm good at healing, so they call me Doc. Anghel…"

Here she looked back at the ill tempered boy who decided to take up the conversation himself.

"I am the Sandman; my power is over dreams, sleep, and illusions."

Souji raised an eyebrow. This Anghel guy seemed all business, but he had a flare for the dramatic. So, onto the next question:

"Will I get my own codename?" Souji asked.

Anghel managed to catch his reaction only a moment too late. Souji had seen the sudden widening of his eyes before they narrowed again. However, it was pointless because the outburst from Doc was impossible to miss.

"Whaaaa!" had been her exclamation, complete with eyes that flew open so much Souji was surprised the eyeballs didn't roll out of their sockets, and her jaw had dropped like a dead weight.

A glance fro Anghel had made her school her features, but she had turned away from Souji and stared at the ground. Souji allowed himself a small, smug grin at the success of his maneuver.

"So, I had been correct in my assumption that you would ask me to join this 'Shadow watch.'"

Anghel was glaring harder this time.

"You are clever Mr. Seta, beware of your cleverness…we may find it makes you more trouble than you're worth.

"Anghel, you need to stop doing that!" Doc turned to Souji again and looked a bit guilty, but smiled anyway.

"You're pretty smart…look, could you just hold your judgments for a while until you can meet someone who can give you all the information you need to make your decision. I'm not very eloquent, so I don't trust myself to try and talk to you about us, I might say something to give you the wrong idea, but I just want to tell you that…we aren't bad people. We don't use our power to try and hurt people…it's really the opposite."

The girl seemed really sincere, which Souji knew could very well be an act, but he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt for now. However, there was one thing he still needed to know:

"Why do you call only Anghel by his real name?"

Doc grinned and rubbed her nose a bit and smiled.

"Oh, that… see, Anghel, and I both entered the Shadow Watch at about the same time, and we're on the same team, so I'm a bit closer to him than the others. I call him by his name because it irritates him."

Anghel growled at her:

"What, silly woman, don't go around talking like we're friends. We just collaborate on missions. Besides, it has nothing to do with me being annoyed; referring to each other by anything but our code names on missions is against the rules. You know that as well as I do.

Doc waved a dismissive hand at him:

"Yeah, nut no one really listens to that rule anyway…Angie!"

"Don't call me that!"

Anghel's glare intensified, this time accompanied by clenched teeth and flaring nostrils. However, Doc just burst into a laughing fit that reminded Souji of Yukiko. Anghel schooled his face once more, and became quite, deciding it best not to give Doc any more reinforcement for her behavior. Doc too, quieted down shortly after.

Silence settled over them again, awkward as ever. Anghel had returned to the blanket and simply stared into the horizon. Doc had taken the silence much worse than either of the two men, shifting from one foot to the other for a while before moving toward Anghel, most likely to sit on the blanket so her white clothes didn't stain.

It was quite amazing how much you could learn about people by simply watching them. As soon as Doc sat down on the blanket, Anghel stood up, and walked away from her. Doc didn't pay him much attention, almost like she had expected the behavior. This sent the gears in Souji's head turning. Was this Anghel not comfortable around women?

Souji had had a lot of girlfriends, and friends that are girls, so he knew a thing or two about what women in general like. With his slim figure, pale skin, and dark hair combining with his aloof personality; he seemed to fit the "dark, brooding, pretty boy" archetype that so many girls liked. Still, there were too many missing details to come to a conclusion yet.

The silence was interrupted by a loud ring tone that sounded from where Anghel stood. The ring tone itself was a generic one, and rung twice before Anghel fished and his pocket; producing a sleek black Razr, which he flipped open and held a little bit away from his face. While Souji couldn't properly hear what was being said on the other side of the phone, Anghel didn't even try to keep his voice down.

"Okay, he's awake."

"…"

"A real handful, too smart for his own good."

"…"

"I know, I know."

"…"

"What, why can't he get any closer?"

"…"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, stop pestering me. We're on our way."

Anghel closed the phone and put it back in his pocket before turning to Doc and Souji.

"Get up; we have some walking to do."

"Whaaaaaat!? Why, How far?" Doc groaned.

"He got as close as he could with his level of accuracy. Besides, it's not too far."

"Who are you talking about?" Souji inquired.

The other two looked at him before Doc rose, picking up the blanket and shaking it out.

"The Doorman is here."

Anghel had turned toward the sun, which Souji had just noticed was beginning to set, before turning back to them, tapping a finger on a wrist to indicate a watch, and said:

"Tempus Fugit."

AS they started off, Souji could only agree, _yes, time flies._

**Author's second, significantly less bitchy note:** So, now that that is finally out of the way, the story can progress a bit more.

Also, I'd like to know what you guys think of the original characters. OC in fan fiction tend to be a bit of a turnoff for me, so I wanted to challenge myself to create a couple in _this_ fic and I just wanted to know what everyone thought of them.


	5. Chapter 5

**IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING**

**Author's note:** You know what I hate? Cognitive dissonance! So I was thinking about my story and I realize something, it gets pretty dark. Though not dark in story concepts for the most part, some of the characters can get pretty heavy.

As they say, character's problems are the things that make them interesting. So, I gave them problems, some more serious then others, however, since I don't know my readers personally, I couldn't be sure of what things might offend them or they may find distasteful.

I decided to stay true to myself and, as such, the rating of this story has been cranked up a notch. If you guys don't mind stories a little bit on the dark side, then by all means keep reading. But for those who are not into that kind of thing, I'm sorry, but you should probably stop reading.

Oh, and Hound….that's another thing.

When I was writing Hound, I realized that he is a pretty vulgar character who some people may be offended by…and he curses (a lot…I mean really, a lot)

**So, for those who don't mind the news, here is the next chapter:**

It was night fall before long, and Souji was getting just a bit nervous. They had probably started into the horizon at least 3 hours ago, descending the grassy hill and venturing into the forest of coniferous trees. They had been wandering around in the forest for a while, with Anghel in the lead, Doc following behind him, and Souji bringing up the rear. It wasn't long before twilight fell on them and night then succeeded that. Souji hadn't said much of anything, but was begining to suspect that maybe Anghel had gotten them lost.

"Anghel, we're lost." That was Doc, the only person who had really spoken at all during the walk.

In fact, she had probably spoken enough for both of the males. Souji had a great deal of patience, but after three hours, it was had not to tell her to shut up; which was precisely what her comrade Anghel had told her to do several times over before giving up. Souji had actually learned quite a bit from the little chatter box. He had learned that her real name was Giovanna de Silva; she was from Brazil, a city named Salvador in the city of Bahia. She had been born their, and bother her parent s were doctors, her father being a neurosurgeon and her mother a pediatrician. Her parents had taken her and moved to Tallahassee, Florida when she was 7 (which explained her lack of an accent when speaking English) in the hopes of her getting a better education.

That was about all that Souji discovered about her personal history before Anghel, who seemed to be constantly irritated with Doc, had told her to stop spilling personal information to people she had just met a few hours ago.

Souji had yet to discern the nature of their relationship. Anghel seemed to always be irritated with anything Doc said. Doc, instead of being affronted, would simply repeat whatever behavior was irritating Anghel with clear intent to get on his nerves. None of his derogatory remarks seemed to faze her, she'd simply laugh them off; and after telling her to shut up a couple of times, Anghel's anger would subside, and he returns to his default stoic personality. At first he thought they had a friendship like that of his own friends Chie and Yosuke back in Inaba. However, one thing he had witnessed had thrown that pretty much out the window.

Doc had been commenting on the trio's apparent lack of progress and she reached out to touch Anghel's shoulder. Anghel had spun and smacked her hand off his shoulder rather vehemently. This reaction seemed to surprise Doc, and even killed her bubbly nature for awhile as they continued walking.

Souji's thoughts were interrupted by Anghel's retort to Doc's claim that they were lost.

"Be quite Doc, I know exactly where we are going."

"We've past this tree before Anghel, these are our foot prints!"

"…"

"Just admit it, we're lost! You've gotten us lost in the woods Anghel, way to go."

"Could you stop talking for a few seconds? If I am lost, hypothetically speaking, it would be because you're incessant chatter caused me to get distracted and veer off the course!"

"Oh, so now it's my fault is it?"

"Yes."

"Quite, something's here." Souji whispered harshly to the other two, who immediately quieted down. Anghel fell to alert and slowly canned the surrounding trees. Doc's movements were much more frantic, rapid jerks of the head from side to side, and her breathing was escalated. It seemed that Doc wasn't used to threatening situations as much as her counter part.

There was a rustling sound from somewhere above them in the tree tops. Souji looked up, but whatever it might have been was gone, leaving a vigorously shaking tree branch behind. The sound came from behind them and when they turned there was, again, nothing. It continued like that, a sound would come from one direction, they'd turn and look, but nothing was there. Then, Souji finally saw something. It was on the ground this time, creeping towards them on all fours, a black silhouette that was difficult to distinguish. However, the yellowish gleam of its eyes and the low growl it gave out made it seem pretty clear, a wolf.

Out of the corner of his eye, Souji saw something that would definitely give him cause for meditation in the future. Anghel, who had up till now shown a strong aversion to physical contact, actually grasped Doc's hand, his fingers intertwining with hers, pulled her behind him, and pulled up a bit of his shirt. Beneath the shirt, tucked into the belt, was a gun.

Souji wasn't much of a gun guy, so he couldn't know what type it was, but its presence put him on edge all the same. The wolf had stopped too, and was staring at them, occasionally emitting a low growl and a…snicker?

The wolf's growling seemed to degenerate into a series of occasional snickers which escalated into a chuckle and finally, into a cacophony of cackles.

Anghel's reaction came much faster than the others. His jaw clenched even more and Souji noticed the bottom moving back and forth. It seemed that Anghel ground his teeth when he was angered, and it was clear this was the case. He immediately dropped Doc's hand and leveled the gun at the hysterical creature before letting off a terribly loud shot that echoed amongst the trees. Souji wasn't nearly as startled as Doc, probably because Naoto had used a gun in their excursions into the TV world.

The shot went far from the target, or rather, the target went far of the shot. The shillouhet had swiftly dodged to the side as soon as Anghel had leveled the barrel at it.

"You are a contrary person Sandman. When you're on a job, you have the emotional range of asphalt. But when off the job, you get pissed almost as fast as I do."

The figure seemed to shake its head, as if berating Anghel.

"You really need some anger management, there's only enough room for one violent psycho on this team, and I ain't given up the title."

The voice had clicked something in Souji's memory, and when he reflected on it; it all came together. The stance, the speed, the voice, that laugh, without a doubt…it was Hound.

"Someone really should put you on a leash." Anghel replied as he stowed the gun back into its hiding place. His face was set again, no evidence of the furious outburst remained.

Hound finally stepped out of the shadow of the trees and Souji got the first real look at him. His black tank top exposed the lithe figure of his upper body. His muscle could be clearly defined without the need for flexing, but he wasn't bulky. He wore simple denim Jeans, and his feet were bare. Souji wasn't sure what kind of sensible person would walk around a dark forest barefoot, but said nothing. His eyes were almost luminescent yellow, like the shade the moon would sometimes turn. Now that Souji was faced to face with him, he noticed another eccentricity; his teeth were gleaming silver. Souji didn't have to try hard to inspect the boy's teeth, since his mouth seemed to be permanently pulled back into a grisly grin. The boy's teeth did in fact look like they were made of metal, and his canines looked positively ghastly. Speaking of metal, his hands were clothed by black gloves that had sharp metal protrusions on each of the fingers. Artificial fangs, and artificial claws, it was clear that this Hound had gone all out to fit the image.

"Why are you here anyway mongrel?" Anghel's question brought Souji out of his examination.

"I came to save you, ungrateful bastard!"

"I'm not lost!"

"Really, well then maybe you could tell me what you were going to do in the opposite direction where the Doorman is waiting?"

"Whatever, lets just go already, we are beyond late. I don't want to get left behind again."

This piqued Souji's curiosity.

"What do you mean by 'left behind'?"

"The Doorman is a pretty frivolous guy. He doesn't like to be left waiting, and unless it's really important, he's perfectly capable of leaving you behind if you're late…as Anghel learned the hard way on a mission in Madrid." It seemed that the usually talkative Doc was returning to herself.

"Don't worry; he got orders from the big man himself to wait for you. He ain't going nowhere." Hound interjected before turning to Doc. That perpetual smile of his, which never seemed like it could get any bigger, widened even more when he faced Doc. Doc clearly became vary uncomfortable with his gaze and gave quite a shriek when the wolf-like teen appeared behind her and sniffed her hair.

"I love your shampoo Doc. Tell me, were you aware of its aphrodisiacal effect before, or after you bought it?"

Doc suddenly became stiff as a plank and Hound brought his face just centimeters away from her ear, moving his knows slowly down her neck to her collar bone, smelling her all the way. Souji would have said something, but it was proved unnecessary when Anghel had another outburst.

"Hound, what the hell are you doing! This lewd behavior of yours is going to get you killed, or at the very least ensure punishment from the commander!"

The threats didn't seem to faze Hound too much as he simply faced Anghel and moved with image-blurring speed right in front of him.

"Well, well, have I struck a soft spot Sandman? You never commented on my flirtatious behavior before? Is it because it was Doc? Does she belong only to you?"

"You son of a bi-"

"Chill out Oedipus, I'm just having a bit of fun."

Souji didn't properly understand the comment, but it had angered Anghel to a point that Souji had yet to see. Anghel's teeth were being ground so hard, Souji was amazed they didn't all turn to powder.

"That's it! I've had enough of you!" Anghel reached into his shirt and tugged on a necklace that hung about his neck. When he pulled the necklace up, a Dream catcher was revealed at the end of it. Hound simply grinned more.

"You wanna go? Alright, let's settle this right here, right now!"

Both their eyes were ablaze with power and wind began to kick up as their energies clashed together.

"Enough!" Souji was a man with a very long fuse; however, he also had the foresight to realize the situation could soon be explosive. Besides, even though he had been assured that this "Doorman" wouldn't up and leave, the fact that he was that type of person was still unsettling.

"Do you, or do you not have someplace you need to take me?"

Hound turned to Souji for the first time since his appearance and pointed a finger at him.

"Don't think, for a moment, that I have forgotten our score. But you are right, this can be handled later. Follow me."

Hound began in another direction and when he had walked a way out, Doc turned to Anghel.

"That was really stupid. I thought you were more professional than that. You know how unstable Hound is, and we have a job to do! Knowing all this you still-"

Anghel simply looked at the ground and walked past her without a sound. Doc sighed and looked to Souji.

"I don't get men at all. I've never seen Anghel so riled up like that. Hound teases him all the time, but it never has this effect. Thank you for stopping them."

"Has Hound ever done anything like that to you?"

"Heh, yeah, all the time; He's… got a curious condition."

"Has he ever done that to you in front of Anghel?"

"No, I don't think so…why?"

Souji chose to say nothing, but instead began to walk in the direction Hound and Anghel were heading. Doc gave him a puzzled glance, still not getting his question, but followed anyway.

It was a good hour before they arrived at their destination, and Souji was getting pretty annoyed at all the walking. However, when they finally reached their destination, Souji was totally not expecting it. It was a small shed, just sitting there by itself, in the middle of nowhere.

It was old and dilapidated, and seemed totally abandoned. Hound had stopped, and was simply staring at the building.

"Is this it?" Souji asked.

"Yep."

More quiet followed. Souji turned to the other two with a look of questioning. Anghel rolled his eyes before asking what everyone was probably thinking:

"He isn't here is he?"

Hound didn't directly answer the question, he simply sighed a long and drawn out

"Fuck."


End file.
